Fulton uses chess board to boost hockey team’s strategic thinking

From making the Indian hockey team climb the famous Table Mountain in Cape Town to giving them a crash course in surfing during their overseas tours, chief coach Craig Fulton has always found innovative ways to recharge his players.

- Sandip Sikdar

Indian hockey players playing chess on Friday.

Each time the Harmanpreet Singh-led side has returned stronger on the field.

This time around, Fulton decided to once again take the unusual route to learn something new as a chess masterclass was organised in Bengaluru for Fulton's wards. Former international chess player Prachura Padakannaya held an interactive session on Friday where he introduced the nuances of chess, drawing correlations between the two game and what the players could learn from a different sport.

“Chess is a thinking game, more of a mind game, and it can be helpful for other sports, not just hockey. This could probably ‘make our players think quickly because hockey moves very fast. In that short amount of time, one has to react and think quickly on your feet. You can learn that from chess,” said Padakannaya, who co-owns American Gambits in the Global Chess League with former India cricketer R Ashwin.